0800–0930 Feeling masochistic, I thought I would test Doris`s wrath and the effect it was having on Oare`s birdlife. A 200 m battering to the seawall hide; composure and a hot coffee, provided the following. Lapwings were tossed in ragged lines, or facing the wind—crests parallel with the upper body—unsteady in the gusting violence; Black-tailed Godwits swept in low over the seawall; Avocets , startlingly black and white against a grey sea-scape; Teal bobbing unconcerned on the incoming tide;  Dunlins , a compact cloud manoeuvring high and low; Brent Geese leaving the last vestiges of zostera for arable pastures; gulls various, carefree, hanging, blown skyward; single Curlews wading tibia deep, scooped up at speed and tossed eastward; Turnstones probing bladderwrack in unconcerned attitudes; Great-crested Grebes, nonchalant in diving mode, in the wind-torn water which was in dark formations blown in the opposite direction to the incoming tide. This had a water-calming effect in the Swale with a grey and white rippling towards the NE. Amid a gathering off-shore violence, Sheppey features became misted through a `wall` of intense rain. Fast flying Shelducks appeared head-on out of the gloom, flying inches above the water to make for the reedy respite of E flood margins. Seals were inquisitive, heads up, working the creek`s shallows, relishing it seemed,the turbulence. The hide thumped—-unsurprising in a direct SW/NE tempest ! Daylight appeared in the form of a sunny interval, but the wind increased its severity . Mike R